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Preview: Borussia Dortmund begin Bundesliga campaign against RB Leipzig

By Oliver Campo

FUERTH, GERMANY - AUGUST 20: Maximilian Philipp of Borussia Dortmund and Fabian Reese of Greuther Fuerth battle for the ball during the DFB Cup first round match between Greuther Fuerth and Borussia Dortmund at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on August 20, 2018 in Fuerth, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
FUERTH, GERMANY - AUGUST 20: Maximilian Philipp of Borussia Dortmund and Fabian Reese of Greuther Fuerth battle for the ball during the DFB Cup first round match between Greuther Fuerth and Borussia Dortmund at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on August 20, 2018 in Fuerth, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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Lucien Favre started to his coaching career at Borussia Dortmund with a last gasp win over Greuther Fürth on Monday in the DFB-Pokal. The attention now turns to the Bundesliga. Can the Black and Yellows defeat RB Leipzig in the home opener on Sunday?

Match information

Location: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund

Date: August 26, 2018

Time: 6:00PM (Local time)/12:00PM (ET)

FUERTH, GERMANY – AUGUST 20: Marco Reus of Dortmund celebrates scoring the winning goal with his team mate Axel Witsel during the DFB Cup first round match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and BVB Borussia Dortmund at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on August 20, 2018 in Fuerth, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
FUERTH, GERMANY – AUGUST 20: Marco Reus of Dortmund celebrates scoring the winning goal with his team mate Axel Witsel during the DFB Cup first round match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and BVB Borussia Dortmund at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on August 20, 2018 in Fuerth, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

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Borussia Dortmund

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BVB is coming from a victory against Greuther Fürth in the DFB-Pokal. New signing Axel Witsel scored his first goal for Dortmund in the 95th minute after Fürth had taken a shock lead in the 77th minute. Marco Reus then scored the winner for Borussia Dortmund in the final minute of extra time to help them qualify for the next round. Favre’s first match as the coach made several hearts stop as the club looked to be headed out of the competition after being a goal down. But a spirited comeback saw them avoid what would have been an embarrassing ‘cupset’.

Statistics are not wise to judge a team’s performance on, but it depends on which ones are looked at. The BVB players took a total of 30 shots and only had 10 of those shots on target against Furth. The game showed that Borussia Dortmund must sign a natural striker before the transfer window ends. There is still time for Favre to find a striker and it could be Paco Alcacer if the recent rumors turn out to be true.

RB Leipzig

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The “Red Bull” team have already played six games in the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal. After finishing sixth last season, RB Leipzig have been playing in the Europa League qualifying rounds and have to focus on their playoff game against Zorya next week. They are unbeaten thus far and will be aiming to secure their second successive win at the Signal Iduna Park. New head coach Ralf Rangnick will be in better match rhythm but their European exploits could have a negative impact on their league campaign.

Team News

Axel Witsel could make his full debut for Borussia Dortmund after coming off from the bench on Monday. Other new signings Abdou Diallo and Thomas Delaney are also expected to start. The majority of the team is available for selection with the exception of Jacob Bruun Larsen (foot). Marius Wolf was injured earlier this week, but he appears to be available for selection. Do not expect Lucien Favre to make too many changes to the side that started on Monday.

RB Leipzig’s star striker Timo Werner is expected to lead the charge against BVB with Emil Forsberg and Bruma backing him up. Left back Marcelo Saracchi picked up a red card in the DFB-Pokal match against Viktoria Koln, but is expected to start once again. Leipzig will be without Marcel Halstenberg (cruciate ligament) and Kevin Kampl (muscle) for Sunday’s match.

Opposition Star Man: Emil Forsberg

COLOGNE, GERMANY – AUGUST 19: Emil Forsberg of RB Leipzig celebrates after scoring his team`s second goal during the DFB Cup first round match between Viktoria Koeln and RB Leipzig at Sportpark Hoehenberg on August 19, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
COLOGNE, GERMANY – AUGUST 19: Emil Forsberg of RB Leipzig celebrates after scoring his team`s second goal during the DFB Cup first round match between Viktoria Koeln and RB Leipzig at Sportpark Hoehenberg on August 19, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

The Sweden international already has one goal and one assist to his name this season and will be hoping to continue his good run of form against Borussia Dortmund. Forsberg is one of Bundesliga’s most talented attacking players and he will be hoping to provide the width and create the chances for Leipzig’s forwards. Full backs are Dortmund’s biggest apparent weakness at the moment, so expect Forsberg to look to exploit that on Sunday.

Last Match: RB Leipzig 1 Borussia Dortmund 1

Dortmund’s German midfielder Mario Goetze (C) plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match RB Leipzig vs Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, eastern Germany, on March 3, 2018. (Photo credit: ROBERT MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images)
Dortmund’s German midfielder Mario Goetze (C) plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match RB Leipzig vs Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, eastern Germany, on March 3, 2018. (Photo credit: ROBERT MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images) /

The two sides last met in March and played out a 1-1 draw at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena. Jean-Kévin Augustin opened the scoring with help from Liverpool’s newest signing, Naby Keita. Mahmoud Dahoud found Marco Reus with a defence splitting pass not long after, and the latter made it 1-1. Both teams created a number of chances, but there wasn’t to be a winner on that day. Considering the opposition and the dwindling performances of key Dortmund players, Favre needs a decisive win at home to kickstart the new season.

Possible Lineups

Borussia Dortmund: Burki – Piszczek, Akanji, Diallo, Schmelzer – Witsel, Delaney – Pulisic, Gotze, Reus – Philipp

RB Leipzig: Gulacsi – Laimer, Upamecano, Mukiele, Saracchi – Forsberg, Ilsanker, Demme, Bruma – Werner, Poulsen

Final prediction – Borussia Dortmund 2 RB Leipzig 1

Next. Borussia Dortmund's ideal XI for the coming season. dark

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